Season 3: The Aftermath
by Henry Gale
Summary: After Newport's latest tragedy, four adults and four teenage kids must find a way to move foward. But can Sandy, Kirsten, Jimmy, Julie, Seth, Summer, and especially Ryanm and Marissa handle the drama that surrounds them? Please everyone read and comment!
1. Chapter 1

Marissa, wearing shades and a yellow bikini with white polka dots, was tanning by the pool of her mother's dishonestly attained Cooper-Nichol mansion, looking up at the clear blue sky. Next to her was her best friend Summer, wearing a solid blue bikini and sunglasses as well. After a long moment of silence, Summer looked over at her best friend and noticed that look in her eyes, that look that had been in her eyes all summer.

"Everything is going to be fine, Coop," said Summer, trying to comfort her. Of course, while Summer's efforts were inspired, she rarely succeeded to comfort Marissa, for Marissa's troubles were often too great to be comforted for.

"Really? How is that? I shot my brother's boyfriend and he's been comatose ever since before the summer. In the off chance that he wakes up, I'll probably be investigated. If not, I'll have to sit here the whole time thinking about it. And I don't know which one's worse," replied Marissa with that same worry in her voice that she had all summer long.

"Well, we haven't really talked about it, so…" Summer said.

"I haven't really talked about it with anyone. Not even Ryan." 

"Well I think you should. I think it's important that you do," suggested Summer, looking at Marissa.

"Okay. Well, my brother's boyfriend tried to rape me, my boyfriend found out and tried to kill his brother, his brother almost killed him, and for that I shot his brother. Now he's in a coma." Marissa turned to Summer. Summer stared back at her, and then broke the silence. 

"Yeah. This isn't working, is it?"

"No," Marissa replied bluntly.

"Okay. New topic then. So… how is everything?"

Marissa lowered her shades and looked at her best friend. "Is that a question?

Summer, rolling her eyes, replied, "You know, besides the whole comatose thing."

"Look," said an uncomfortable Marissa. "If there's nothing to say then let's just say nothing."

"Well it can't be like this forever. I mean, you did the right thing, which in this case, seems to many other oblivious people to be twisted, immoral, and wrong. But you know what, Coop? Life will go on. You just need some time," Summer assured her.

"So what are you saying?

"I don't know."

In the kitchen of the Cohen household, a bag of bagels lay before Seth, who was pouring himself some cereal in a bowl next to a large green mug of coffee. Sandy, carrying the phone in-between his ear and his shoulder, walked into the kitchen, waiting for someone to pick up. 

"Yes, hello?" began Sandy as he heard a man on the other line. "Yeah, hi. Any update on Trey Atwood?" Ryan made his way into the kitchen from the pool house. "He's awake?" The two of them all looked up at Sandy, shocked at what they had just heard. "All right. Thank you very much." Sandy removed the phone from his ear and hung it up. At that moment, Kirsten walked in. "Big news," he said to her. "Trey… he woke up."

"What? When?" Kirsten anxiously asked.

"This morning. The hospital called. They said we can visit anytime tonight from seven to ten. They don't want us coming in right now," replied Sandy to his wife.

"We're all gonna go, right?" asked Seth.

"Of course we're all gonna go," began Kirsten. "Why would you even ask that question?"

"I don't know if I wanna go," said a confused Ryan.

" Sweetie. Of course you'll go. Regardless of what happened, he's in the hospital, and he just woke up from a coma since before the summer."

"That goes back to what happened. To what he did."

"You have to do this. Now. Before school and everything else gets in the way," Kirsten reassured him.

"School. School. Oh my god, school. And we thought last year would be difficult."

" Well, there might be a lot to deal with for the next week or so. But I'll be there for you both," Sandy said to the two of them. 

"Thanks," said Ryan, forcing a smile.

"…Wait. If Trey is up, what does that mean for Marissa?" Seth asked nervously.

"Well, my guess is they won't turn to Marissa first. The DA is gonna have a lot of questions for all of you."

Ryan looked up at him apprehensively. "What am I supposed to say? 

"Just tell them the truth," insisted Kirsten.

"It's gonna be fine. You and Marissa are gonna be fine," Sandy said. The room became silent and Ryan nervously looked down at the floor, wondering how things would play out, wondering where the situation would take him. Seth just stood there watching him with a feeling of pity. Suddenly, the phone rang and interrupted the short silence. Sandy turned around as Kirsten grabbed it.

"Hello?" said Kirsten as she walked out of the kitchen.

" Well," Sandy said. "I'm gonna be upstairs. See you boys later." Sandy took off, leaving the two boys alone in the kitchen.

"Hey, buddy, you okay?" Seth asked him sympathetically, watching him continue to stare down at the floor.

"What am I gonna do? What if they think it's me? Am I supposed to just pass the blame over to Marissa so they can arrest her?"

"Look, I don't know. But my dad knows what he's talking about, so don't worry."

"I just can't believe this has been going on all summer," Ryan said. 

"Yeah. I just wonder how Marissa's coping with it," added Seth.

"I wouldn't know. We haven't actually spoken about that night since it happened," Ryan admitted.

"Well, maybe it's time that you do."

"I don't know. That will only make it more awkward for both of us," he said.

"Life sucks," said Seth with a sigh.

Kirsten, upstairs in her bedroom, hung up the phone and tapped it against her hand anxiously.

"Dr. Woodruff?" asked Sandy as he walked into the bedroom. Kirsten turned around to see him.

"Yeah," she said with a smile.

"So you're officially out, huh?"

"I think so."

He walked up to her and kissed her. "Congratulations. I'm proud." 

"Thanks," she said, again with a smile. After kissing once more, Kirsten sat down on her bed and looked at a picture of her father standing up on her night table. "I miss him so much. I just wish he didn't have to see me this way." Sandy looked at her compassionately.

"But he loved you. Very much." He moved towards and slowly rubbed her back, leaving the room when he was done. As he left, she got up and opened a drawer, taking out a large black picture album. She sat it across her lap, opening it to the third page and looking at the picture on the bottom left. Standing to the right of her was her father, and standing to her left was her son Seth. Her eyes slowly shifted from Caleb to her son. She began to shed a tear, afraid of losing her son.

"Here you are," said Jimmy Cooper to his wife Julie as he lay a little table over her legs, which were hidden by the blanket covering all of her but her face. "Your favorite sugar-powdered donuts, two Belgian waffles, Orange juice, and two pieces of toast, well done."

Julie looked down weakly at the food and smiled. "Why are you doing this, Jimmy?"

"Julie, you've been a wreck all summer. You haven't been going to yogalates, you haven't stopped watching Oprah, and you've barely even left the house. Look, I know what happened with Marissa is hard to swallow. But it's Marissa. That's how things are meant to be with her. And, like always, we will get through this." Jimmy looked at her as she stared right back. He got up and walked out of the room, leaving her alone, thinking about the condition she was in.

"Okay, okay. Everyone settle down," said Seth to his three glum, immobile friend sitting next to and across from him at the table in the diner. "I'm officially calling this meeting to order. I think… we're all kind of in drama mode. You know, the whole thing with Trey. Marissa's still feeling guilty, Ryan's feeling confused, Summer's feeling bad for her best friend. Well, maybe it's time we feel good for a change. Why don't we all do something, just the four of us? Start senior year off right?" he asked without the attention of the crowd.

"What do you propose we do?" said an unenthusiastic Summer. 

"Enthusiasm. I like it. Um… I don't know, something exciting. Something fun. Nothing like this."

"Look, Seth, we appreciate your efforts, but let's be realistic. It's only gonna get worse. We might as well just take the situation how it is," commented Marissa.

"She's right. No sense in running from reality," added Ryan.

"Cohen, let's just finish breakfast," Summer finished.

Seth looked around him, angry with the three of their attitudes. "You know what? Fine. Be pessimists. Waste your life eating pancakes at a diner because you shot your brother's boyfriend---"

Summer smacked him on the shoulder. "Cohen! Watch what you say---" 

Seth turned around and walked out of the diner. Summer watched him leave helplessly and then turned back to her friend Marissa, whose mouth was dropped open and eyes welling with tears. Ryan too watched her, feeling regret for what his best friend had just said to her but still seeing truth in the statement. He watched her, understanding the complication of the situation.

Seth lay in his bed, staring at the walls before him. He was trying so hard to hide his own emotions about the situation and let Ryan and Marissa work it out with each other. But lately, it had gotten to be too much. On the 4th of July, Seth rented out the old boat and went for a romantic boat ride with Summer. That night, when he returned home and saw Ryan and Marissa, lying quiet as usual at the house doing something or other, he realized. Life was more than just taking the hit for mistakes that you've made. Life was more than just being punished for sins you've committed during your lifetime. Life is like a boat ride. When the tide fights you, you've got to fight back. But when the tide knocks you down, that's when you have to get back on that boat altogether.

Ryan returned to the pool house alone and jumped down on his bed. Things tonight had gotten even more complicated, with Seth now on Marissa's bad side. He wondered what exactly had caused Seth's sudden outburst. He wondered how Marissa was doing after hearing what he had to say to her. He wondered when this situation would finally end, and let Ryan and Marissa free from its chains. He remembered the good old days, when the four of them were happy and together, when the worst thing that could happen was getting kicked out of a club in LA. Life had finally thrown him an opportunity two years ago, and now, as he lay down in bed wondering about his future and thinking in the aftermath of his most life-changing experience yet, he was being teased with that opportunity. Life was holding it before him, but with his situation in the way, he couldn't quite grasp onto it.

Summer sat down on her bed flipping through channels as she tried to shut out her rushing thoughts. Nothing could get her feelings in order. Her best friend had shot her brother's boyfriend two month's ago. Her boyfriend had just lashed out on her best friend for reacting the way she was. And she was all over the map as it was all about to be determined. Trey had finally woken up. The future was now. Life was now just a roll of the dice.

Marissa lay down on her bed, cuddling next to Share Bear. She held onto it tight, relieving all her anger and pain in every squeeze she took at it. Slowly, tears formed in her eyes and traveled down her cheeks as she remembered the scene of the shooting occur exactly as it had happened. At first Marissa did not even understand what had even happened. Hr nightmares occurred in different blocks and she was hardly able to tell what she had just dreamed. But as time went on, her memories had gotten clearer, and she was better able to tell what happened. She was better able to tell what had happened that night. In fact, she could feel it more than ever, almost as she felt at that very night. Her life had finally hit an all-time low. It was as if her life was the top of a cliff. She would constantly fall, and every time someone helped her up, she would fall and lose even more ground. And now, she couldn't be helped, as she was no longer hanging onto anything. And she couldn't even try, as the whole cliff was crumbling around her.


	2. Chapter 2

"Seth?" screamed Kirsten from below. "We're leaving the house in fifteen minutes. Make sure to be ready!" Seth got up from bed, puzzled by the weird situation ahead of him. Finally, after a summer's wait, Ryan would be able to see Trey. He wondered how it would affect Ryan and Marissa's relationship and more importantly how it would affect Ryan all around. He got up from bed and changed into chinos and a button-down shirt, a sweater pulled over it. He ran down the stairs and saw Sandy and Kirsten dressed up to go. Sandy looked back and forth at his watch, until Kirsten realized that he wasn't coming. She walked out of the kitchen and into the pool house, where she saw Ryan, dressed to go, looking down at his bed.

"Ready to go?" she asked him.

"To be honest," began Ryan as he looked up at her. "No."

Kirsten let out a small laugh. "I just want you to know," she bean. "I know I haven't been there since before the shooting. I know I've been gone all summer long. And I know I haven't been able to be there for you and Seth," she said before pausing.

"It's okay. Really. What happened was out of your reach. And with the situation you were in, I think I can let you off with a free pass."

"My situation was no excuse. I made a mistake. A mistake that I know had its way with your family," she said. "But trust me, Ryan, it won't happen again. Now, let's talk about Trey."

"I don't think I can do it," he said.

"Why not?"

"Believe it or not, I used to look up to Trey. He did some stupid things, but still, I looked up to him. He was my older brother. Then, I started to grow up. My dad got arrested, my mom started drinking, and my brother became even worse. And all the responsibility landed on me. Since then me and Trey… it's been difficult," explained Ryan.

"I'm sure that wasn't easy. I wouldn't say I grew up deprived, but I know what it's like to have responsibilities, if it helps. And look what happened to me. But you have something going for yourself, Ryan. Just look at yourself. Look at what you were and look at what you've become."

"And look where I am now. Maybe I had a future since you two took me in and maybe I had something going… but now I might as well go back to my old life. I screwed it up. I never should have let Trey in… I knew it wouldn't work out. I wasn't thinking responsibly. If I was, none of this would have happened. But I felt bad for him. I thought there was a chance that he'd changed. But I was wrong. And look what happened. And you wanna know what makes it even worse? Marissa got involved. And now her future is as stake."

"Ryan," Kirsten said gently, putting her hand on his. "What happened with Trey was not your fault. You can't beat yourself up over something you can't control. Letting him in was one of the most mature things you could have done. He screwed it up, not you."

"What am I supposed to say? I'm glad he's okay, but… he tried to hurt her. I opened up for him and he ruined everything," said a confused Ryan.

"You don't have to say anything. You just have to see him. No matter what happened, he's your brother. And whether or not anyone else thinks he does, he deserves to see his family," Kirsten said. "Who knows? The words might come to you once you finally see him." Ryan nodded at her in understanding. "Now, do you think you're ready to go?"

"Dr. McCormick, room thirty-seven b, please. I repeat, Dr. McCormick to room thirty-seven b," said the voice of the receptionist over the P.A. system.

"I'm pretty sure he's in room sixty eight," said Sandy, Kirsten, Seth, and Ryan following from behind.

"Isn't that around the hall from the room Marissa stayed in after Mexico?" asked Kirsten curiously. Everyone stopped walking and Ryan turned to her.

"That's awkward," said Seth, and they continued on. As they passed by a very familiar room, Ryan looked to an open door, and remembered Julie Cooper calling out to him after Sandy, Kirsten, and Seth prepared to take him from the hospital and would soon first bring him to Harbor. Julie gave him an angry threat which strictly warned him to stay away from Marissa, as he was only making her life worse.

Finally, the four of them reached their destination. In a large room with a wide window in front of it, the four of them stared a Trey, immobile.

"Cohen family?" asked a nurse from behind. The four of them turned to her and Sandy nodded his head, "He's asleep right now. If you want, you can come back in the morning," she said, as she handed him the card. "Visiting hours are written on our card."

Jimmy was sitting at his new office in the Cooper-Nichol mansion. While he had not quite felt at home in Caleb's mansion, he certainly felt familiar with the financial situation he was in. He chucked paper after paper after paper off of his desk, frustrated with all the bills he had to deal with and all the debts making their way. He buried his head into his hands and lay them down on the desk.

"Honey, I need to… Jimmy?" Jimmy looked up at her, surprised.

"O-oh, Julie, hey," he said, trying to sound average. "You're out of bed?"

"Jimmy, is there something you need to tell me?" she asked as she looked around, papers all over the floor and Jimmy just lifting his head up from his desk.

"Honey… I'm sorry… but with everything that's been going on with Marissa, I'm just too stressed to do work now," he lied. Julie looked around her, deciding whether or not to believe him.

"Well, okay," she said. "But I got out of my stage. Yours is gonna have to end too."

"Of course. It will. I just need this whole thing to blow over."

"I guess this is a bad time to tell you that the Cohen's called."

"What?"  



	3. Chapter 3

  
"Just do it, Coop," said Summer, fixing up Marissa's pillows. "You might as well just do it already."

"It's too late," said Marissa. "I should really do it in the morning."

"I don't understand. One minute, you're about to call Ryan and talk to him. Next thing I know, we're standing here making your bed," said Summer.

"Look, it's complicated. I have to tell him at the right time, Sum," she replied.

"Well, the longer you wait, the harder it's gonna be to find the right time."

"Sum, I'm not gonna talk about this with you right now," she said, laughing.

"Well, you're gonna have to… was that a laugh? Marissa?"

"What's going on?" asked Julie as she popped her head in the room.

"Marissa was just about to call Ryan," said Summer as she grabbed the phone out of the jack and held it before Marissa.

"Oh, Marissa, are you sure?" asked Julie uneasily, immediately catching the attention of Summer and Marissa.

"Is there something wrong, Mrs. Cooper?"

"I don't think now is the best time to call Ryan."

"Why?" asked Marissa. "What's going on?"

"The Cohen's left a message. Trey woke up."

Summer stared at the pain being displayed on Marissa's eyes. Marissa just sat on her bed, curled up on her bed, refusing to move.

"Coop, come one. We can get through this. We will get through this. I promise."

"Yeah. The cops will probably be here by the end of tonight."

"You're not going to go to jail, Marissa," she assured.

"How can you be sure of that?" she asked sadly.

"Because if you tell them the truth---"

"Yeah. The truth."

"Look, Coop, I know it's hard---"

"You don't know anything!" she hissed. "Look, I appreciate your effort, but no one can dare tell me how they understand and how I have to do it. The best thing people could do is give me space."

"Coop, I'm sor---"

"Don't be sorry," she said. "Just let me take this my own way. Make sure you – and your boyfriend – stay out of it. I already have enough pressure."

Summer looked at her, disheartened by the terrible situation that seemed to be tearing Marissa apart from everyone and everything around her. She reluctantly got up and left the room, feeling bad to leave her friend behind in such a situation but feeling worse to sit there and make things worse. She ran out of the house, confused about how she really felt. And it was quite clear that how she felt over the summer had been insolently ignored.

Ryan lay down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. In other words, he was brooding. And in the midst of a deep session, Seth opened the door. He stood there, upset, looking at Ryan. In trying to break the silence, Seth finally spoke.

"Hey, man," he said. "You okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Good, good. I figured the whole situation might have you worried."

"I'm fine."

"Well, if you want to talk, I'm here," he said gently before getting up and walking to the door.

"Seth?" Ryan said before Seth could leave the room. Seth stopped.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." Seth nodded at him and was once again about to walk out until he stopped at the door and turned around to face Ryan.

"Oh, and hey man, I'm sorry about this morning," he said.

"It's cool. But, when this is all over, I think you owe an apology to Marissa. If it's ever over," he said. Seth nodded back before leaving the room. Ryan stared at the door for a moment before lying back down.

As Seth walked towards the kitchen, Kirsten breezed by him on her way to see Ryan.

"Oh, hey sweetie. How are you?" she asked with a genuine smile on her face.

"You know, good," he replied insipidly.

"Ryan seems okay?" she said.

"Yeah. I mean, under the circumstances."

"Oh," she replied. "Seth, I was just wondering. Maybe you and---"

"Look, Mom, I'm sorry to cut this conversation short, but I really have to call Summer right now. But I'll see you around, okay?" He patted her on the shoulder and sped away. Kirsten stood there, her genuine smile now just an evident fake of one.

Sandy sat down at a table for two in a fancy restaurant full of wealthy businessmen and women almost completely exposed. As he checked his watch, a tall man wearing a flashy suit walked in and sat down in the seat next to him.

"It's been a while, Sandy," said the man.

"Otis," he replied. "How are you?"

"Well, I'm fine. And yourself?"

Sandy just stared at him without saying a word. Otis dropped the smile he originally carried along with him.

"Right. Of course. Well, I'm afraid to say that I come with some… what you might call bad news. Listen, Sandy, I've known you a long time. You say it was her who did it, I believe you. But no one else is buying it. I mean, troubled kid from the wrong side of the tracks. His brother tries to rape his girlfriend. More likely to be him. At least that's what they think."

"And what do you think?" asked Sandy.

"I think I can take your word… but that doesn't change anything. D.D.A. Costello will be at your house tomorrow morning with some questions for both of your boys."

"Tomorrow morning? Don't you think tomorrow morning is a little sudden?" he asked nervously.

"Look, if the story Ryan has to tell is true, then you have nothing to worry about," he insisted.

"Nothing to worry about? You gotta be kidding? We got two kids with not such great histories here, one of them our son and the other his girlfriend. This is a lose-lose situation for everyone. Come on, Otis, you have to help us out. You gotta make an exception here," he begged.

"Sorry, Sandy, but I make justice, not exceptions."

And with that, he took off, leaving Sandy worried, afraid, and completely sure that Ryan would lose this case.

Jimmy sat by the phone in his office and stared at the Caller ID as it continuously rang. Finally, after a minute of waiting, he picked it up.

"Hello?" he said into the phone apathetically.

"Jimmy, I'm getting worried. It's been a month. A month, Jimmy!" screamed the man on the other end.

"Come on, Jack. You know I'm in a bind right now." Jimmy scoffed. "To think you'd be just little more lenient," he said.

"To think you'd be a little less aggressive to me… you know, considering I did lend you about… how much was it? Twenty-thousand dollars?"

"Look, I'm sorry. But with everything that's been going on with Marissa, I can't right now. I'm sorry."

"Yeah. You say that now. But when this all blows over… for better or for worse… we both know I'm not gonna get that money back, don't we?"

"That's not true," he insisted.

"Look, Jimmy, you've been my friend for a long time, but after what happened with Greg two years ago, I wasn't so sure you'd pay me back. But you were in trouble, Jimmy, and I was your friend. So I lent you the money. I figured you'd have the common courtesy of paying it back."

"Who's to say I won't?" Jimmy asked you.

"I can think of a lot of people. Starting with Greg."

"Look, you can hold that against me all you want, Jack, but either I will pay you back or I won't. All I can do is tell you that I will. And if you don't believe that, then I guess there's nothing you can do."

"No, see that's where you're wrong. There are a lot of things I can do," he began. "It's just a matter of whether or not I'm going to go through with any of them."  



End file.
